Biden’s Attorney General will have to be an attack dog — for the good of the country

Now is not the time for mercy if we want to reckon with what Trump and Mitch McConnell have done

Joe Biden discusses Sen. Lindsey Graham with Steven Colbert on The Late Show (CBS/The Late Show via YouTube)

I’m told, every day, from Republicans and Democrats alike, that “bygones should be bygones”; that in order to heal from this nightmarish last four years, we as a nation must “move on”. But the truth is that if we allow Trump’s presidency to fade out of the public eye without holding him to account for everything he did to our democratic and justice systems, our country will be forever damaged. I work in law; I know that this is how it works.

There has been much talk about a “Trump crimes commission”, and that is one way to restore normalcy to America. Retired 30-year prosecutor Glenn Kirschner supports the idea of such a commission, so long as it is apolitical and independent, and works to investigate all offenders, fight illegal pardons, undo unqualified judicial appointments and generally reestablish the legitimacy of the Justice Department. Representative Eric Swalwell has been similarly vocal about his support for the idea. There are many others besides.

Bill Barr has recently resigned, and we should consider what that means: Things are getting too corrupt even for him in the late-days Trump White House. A competent Attorney General is central to a functioning DOJ, just as an incompetent one is central to its destruction. And that’s why Biden’s own Attorney General has to be a certain kind of character.

To preside over a “Trump crimes commission”, we will need an AG with courage. He or she will have to be hard-hitting, unapologetic and ready and able to jump in with both feet. Once appointed by Biden, the president-elect should become entirely hands-off — in stark contrast to Trump — which will allow the Attorney General to do their work in an independent fashion, in control of their own department and in pursuit of every single criminal who conspired, supported, enabled, and broke the law in concert with this administration.

Whether we see American citizens before the The Hague for crimes against humanity in regard to the pandemic (as just one (in)action) or on multiple fronts has yet to be seen. Whether Trump or members of his family or close associates will be prosecuted or imprisoned is yet unknowable. But one thing should be abundantly clear: We cannot look the other way for the sake of “unity”. We can move forward while still sending a message about what happened in the past.

The irony has not escaped me that the “F**k Your Feelings” crowd are now standing firmly behind a leader who has so repeatedly and consistently failed. No, election results don’t care about your feelings. They don’t care about whether you wanted to “make liberals cry”. And the courts don’t draw a distinction between someone with a famous father or a well-connected friend and any other petty criminal; or at least they won’t under a Biden Attorney General.

We need an Attorney General ready to make precedent. I do not want to hear “This has never been done before” or “It is too late to make a difference,” or any similar capitulation. Over the past four years, we have watched Mitch McConnell — a man in charge of representing one single state in our union — yield more power than anyone else in this country, damaging beyond recognition our institutions, laws, and tools for accountability. He should be at the top of the list for our new Attorney General.

Americans sit here a month away from the swearing-in of what will be the busiest administration in the history of our country. Not only must Biden undo everything Trump has implemented, but he needs to work to rebuild faith with each and every one of us. He also needs to situate the US properly back on the global stage, thereby gaining the trust of our wounded allies. The right AG, working here in the States, will do nothing but embolden the Biden platform and goals for our rehabilitation. This administration damaged America and Americans, but also our allies across the world, with its incompetence, corruption and cronyism.

We watch every day as cabinet members, legislators, judges, campaign members, the executive and various private citizens act as one unit to cover their tracks in the final days of 45. Biden, take note: A no-mercy AG wins.